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Salted Sands (A Caves of Qud-Inspired Cultivation Quest)

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just to clarify: this is to find out if our family would be safe with her. I want to leave no matter what, i would just ask someone else to look after them,leave all our money and maybe the revolvers as guaranty that we would pay back even more later.
i barely know anyyhing about that women,and we have a little time.

The best thing about quests is that you can make your own decisions,which means asking for advice where to leave your family protected. If we just left i guess we would be punished for this later. i wont ask for every little thing.

( the many questions plan was because we,the voters, literally knew nothing. )

but this is important.
 
ok thanks.

the problem with these original settings in quests( which i love,apart from this problem) is that the voters know nothing,and the authors often put you there with barely any explanation.

over the top example:
so we are in a room and say we try to look for stuff, and we get
"ok so you use your magic-"
"we have magic?"
"yes,now you-"
" how does this work? has everybody magic? can we ask an npc?"
"..fine"

all of these are ok,not really bad. but ,as you said, we tend to find a mentor and stick to them for too long.

because we are basically a newborn with no education on the world, who will get in dangerous situations as a matter of fact.


the loreposts are a really big help with that,thank you.


this is nothing against you, the minimal information at the start was difficult, but you quickly opened up, so its fine.

It had a nice, alien, feel to it, with clarifications coming fast enough to help.

there has been a lot worse from others.

Its just,if you want us to make a choice thats more than just combat or emotional, we need to know,to a point,what is going on.
 
Just to clear the air, I'm not going to punish you for things that, logically, Kell would take care of on his own and/or aren't narratively important.

Heck, I'm probably not going to be punishing you folks much anyways. Just not really the kind of QM I am.
 
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Personally I'm in favor of staying in Melka. I want to make sure our family is safe above everything else.

[X] Stay in Melka
 
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Mysteries of the Moons, a Children's Primer
  • Informational
    • I, Singing Scribe Sebble of Harlow, write these words with the intention to inform the reader of facts relating to our three moons. Assuming that the reader is a young child, I will be explaining the absolute basics one should be aware of regarding the moons.

    Firstly, each moon has a name. Khet is the largest of the moons, shining a brilliant red light across the world. Second is Rahl, whose blue casts calm across all who witness. Third is Hakka, who bathes with a yellow brighter by far than its kinsmen.

    Secondly, each of the moons changes at a different pace, with all three moons having the same stage a once-a-decade occurrence. It is believed that the moons have a connection with one's cultivation, as, depending on the stages one is born under, one finds themselves with wildly varying potential to others around them.

    A child born under a moonless sky will completely lack the ability to wield ka, while a child born under a true full moon wields ka from their very first breath. The more light that shines upon a child, the greater their cultivation potential shall be. Many scientists, respected scholars all, fail to find the logic behind the moons' affects on cultivation potential. It is one of our world's greatest natural mysteries, easily rivaling the Great Spire and bloodtithe in scale.
     
  • Informational
    • So do people try to schedule babies for the most moonlight'ed night possible?
     
    spiderhellian said:
    How can you end with such a fiendishly teasing closing line‽ :V
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    ;P

    Bloodtithe will come up in the story, so I'll save the explanation until then. The Spire, though, that I will write a lore post about. It's not something you'll visit with Kell, though, as I intend for it to be a central part of a future story in this setting.
    Eater said:
    Has anyone ever been to the moons?
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    Supposedly, there were two separate mission series that were successful—out of untold failures. Unfortunately, the records were lost during the Paper Plague.
    Shard said:
    So do people try to schedule babies for the most moonlight'ed night possible?
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    Try to being the keyword there. There is quite a bit of conceiving that happens if a triple full-moon is predicted in the next nine-ish months, but very few will be lucky enough to be born at the right time.

    After all, the world has a funny way of turning one's hopes into despair. Irony, it is said, makes the winds blow.
     
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    I.F. Ister said:
    Try to being the keyword there. There is quite a bit of conceiving that happens if a triple full-moon is predicted in the next nine-ish months, but very few will be lucky enough to be born at the right time.

    After all, the world has a funny way of turning one's hopes into despair. Irony, it is said, makes the winds blow.
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    I mean even if you miss a triple full moon you still get a lot of moon,
     
    I, Singing Scribe Sebble of Harlow, write these words with a desire to teach the youth of one of our world's most fascinating mysteries; the Great Spire.

    Alas, little is truly known of the Spire, so I shall first write the facts as we know them before listing a number of widely believed folktales.

    Fact the first, the Spire can be seen from anywhere in the Sands. It always sits exactly to the north, providing travelers a measure of orientation in the endless dunes.

    Fact the second, the Spire cannot be seen from within an oasis. Whatever the reason, no matter how hard one may try, the Spire will never be witnessed from within the bounds of an oasis.

    Fact the third, the Spire is always exactly one thumb's height when measured from the horizon, regardless if the horizon is blocked from line of sight or not. Attempting to travel to the Spire will see little success, as it will always remain the size of one's thumb.

    Those three facts are, unfortunately, all the Singing Scribes know of the Great Spire. Now I shall move on to a trio of myths surrounding the Spire.

    Myth the first, the Spire, should one climb to the top, will grant your heart's desire. Faiths venerating a heroic ancestor figure—such as the Shrine of Man—often describe the figure journeying to the Spire as a final feat of heroic might.

    Myth the second, the Spire was built by the hands of a united humanity before the Sands cursed them for their hubris. It is unclear what, exactly, was the goal the ancient humans constructed the Spire in an attempt to achieve, as all stories seem to have conflicting claims.

    Myth the third, the lost city of Ikathos is built around the base of the Spire. Said to contain every secret to have ever been held, Ikathos has captivated the minds of many an over-eager story-teller for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
     
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    Shard said:
    I mean even if you miss a triple full moon you still get a lot of moon,
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    Irony, my friend, never forget that.

    Miscarriages, stillbirths, premature, and all manner of other events nearly always ensure that any child conceived with intention of being born to take advantage of the moonslight will not see it
     
    Oooo, love a good eldritch spire… and only visible within the sands, hmm? I'll be curious to see how it looks to Kell's salt touched eyes once they can be further empowered with ka.
     
    Probably the same as to everyone else. Ka users with sand touched eyes already exist in-setting.
     
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    The info on the moons really do make it sound like ka access is made by aligning yourself temporarily to a cycle. Whether that be the cycle of day and night or the cycle of the moons.
     
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